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Unfinished Obelisk - Nile Cruise Tours

Much
of the red granite used for ancient temples and colossi came
from quarries in the Aswan area. Around these quarries are
many inscriptions, many of which describe successful
quarrying projects. The Unfinished Obelisk located in the
Northern Quarry still lies where a crack was discovered as
it was being hewn from the rock. Possibly intended as a
companion to the Lateran Obelisk, originally at Karnak but
now in Rome, it would have weighed over 2.3 million pounds
and would have been the worlds largest piece of stone ever
handled. However, a crack in the stone occurred, which
caused it to be abandoned. Tools left by it's builders have
given us much insight into how such work was performed. The
site has recently been renovated and equipped with tourist
facilities. Nearby is the Fatimid Cemetery.
In ancient times obelisks and other large stone objects were
usually blocked out roughly before they left the quarry.
There are several techniques suggested for the splitting of
hard stone away from its surrounding rock. One method may
have been to cut a groove along the line where the stone was
to be detached and then to drive in wooden wedges which were
soaked with water. The force of the swelling wood would act
to split the granite - there is certainly evidence that this
method was used in Roman times. Another method may have been
to cut a groove with stone tools, or a primitive saw used
with an abrasive, which would then be heated with charcoal
and rapidly cooled with water, causing the stone to split.

Given
the primitive soft-metal tools of the ancient Egyptians, the
obelisk in the Northern Quarry shows us an amazing feat of
technology and archaeologists have learned much about the
techniques of stone-cutting from examining this abandoned
monument and from the tools which have been left behind. It
would appear that the stone, which measures 42m in length
and would have weighed around 1216 tonnes, developed a flaw
during quarrying and was never completed, left to lie still
attached to the rock for the next 3000 years. It has been a
tourist attraction for almost as long.
The Northern Quarry is an fascinating place to visit for
those interested in early technologies. It is famous for
producing the granite used in the construction of the burial
chamber of the Great Pyramid of Khufu as well as some of the
casing stones in other pyramids. Every rock face shows the
imprint of ancient stone workers with many cut-marks or
artists sketches still to see. You can almost believe that
the workmen have only just put down their tools and gone
home for the night.
The area of the northern quarry has been recently excavated
and renovated by the SCA, its mounds of rubble cleared to
reveal many previously unknown granite objects, including
fragments of columns and statues. Archaeologists have been
able to get a clearer picture of how the stone was cut,
carved and transported and have found several ancient tools
and artists' sketches. To the south of the unfinished
obelisk, excavators found a hieroglyphic inscription dated
to year 25 of the reign of Tuthmose III, an instruction from
the King for the quarrying of two large obelisks to be
erected in Karnak Temple and dedicated to Amun-Re. They also
uncovered, close to the unfinished obelisk, the depressions
made from the hewing of seven large obelisks, possibly those
in Karnak and Luxor temples. Another important discovery was
a harbour from where the stone was shipped northwards along
the Nile, its walls revealing decorative graffiti of the god
Bes, ostriches and fish.
The site is now landscaped and re-opened and offers wide
wooden walkways and steps between the many different levels
of the quarry with a good viewing platform at either end of
the unfinished obelisk. A visitors centre and open-air
museum to display some of the artefacts, along with the
inevitable tourist bazaar completes this unique experience.